Musk Injects $76 Million Into Final Weeks of Midterm Races

A massive injection of capital has reshaped the final sprint of the midterm elections as a billionaire donor moved aggressively to influence key contests.

New filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Thursday reveal that America PAC, the personal political committee of Elon Musk, received over $76 million during the first half of October. The group spent nearly $43 million in that same period and enters the last phase of the campaign with approximately $47 million in cash. This latest infusion brings Musk’s total contributions to Republican political groups this cycle to more than $445 million, establishing him as the largest known individual donor in these midterms. Over $165 million of that total has flowed to America PAC since July.

The Texas Senate race absorbed the largest share of these new funds, drawing $15.2 million in the two-week period. This figure is double the amount the committee spent in that state throughout the summer. Of that sum, $12.4 million was allocated to attack Democratic candidate James Talarico, while $2.8 million went to promote Republican Ken Paxton. Daily reports indicate an additional $9.1 million was spent against Talarico following the initial filing, bringing the total opposition spending to nearly $28 million. This amount represents about 40 percent of everything the committee has spent supporting or opposing candidates this cycle. The committee also shifted its strategy toward digital platforms, spending $11.4 million on online ads, a figure nearly equal to its combined spending on mail and text messaging.

Musk, whose companies Tesla and SpaceX maintain headquarters in Texas, has also amplified his message on social media. On Wednesday, he posted on X that he found something deeply wrong with Talarico, calling him a creep and claiming without evidence that the candidate would vote to take away children. Earlier in the month, Musk shared a false claim that Talarico had been treated at a mental health facility. Talarico responded to the viral posts by stating that there is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US Senator. The committee itself declined to comment on the new spending reports.

The contest remains competitive, with an Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted from October 17 to 19 showing Talarico leading by two points. The candidate holds 48 percent of support compared to Paxton’s 46 percent, a difference within the poll’s three-point margin of error. The outcome carries implications that extend far beyond the single seat.

If Democrats secure control of the House, committee chairs have indicated they will investigate Musk’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency, his companies’ federal contracts, and numerous conflicts of interest. California Representative Zoe Lofgren described the number of potential conflicts as astounding. A unified Democratic Congress would present an even greater challenge. Additionally, Silicon Valley Democrats added a new target this week by sending a letter to the White House demanding an investigation into restrictions on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite service in Ukraine. Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta, and Ro Khanna vowed that the next Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Musk’s businesses.